Trial to open of former child soldier turned LRA warlord The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | Dominic Ongwen, the former child soldier who became a Lord’s Resistance Army warlord, will go before war crimes judges on Tuesday in a trial which presents the International Criminal Court with its “most difficult …
Read More »US slaps sanctions on Kony’s sons Salim and Ali
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States announced sanctions Tuesday against the sons of Joseph Kony, leader of the central Africa-based Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group. The Treasury Department said it targeted Salim and Ali Kony “for acting for or on behalf of the LRA and/or Joseph …
Read More »LRA rebels abduct 344 people in six months in CAR
Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | Rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army have kidnapped a record 344 civilians in the Central African Republic in the first half of 2016, according to two specialised NGOs. “The group abducted 344 people there in the first six months of 2016, more than …
Read More »UN: LRA rebels step up attacks, abduct children in C.Africa
Attacks in the Central African Republic have increased in the first three months of the year, with 42 incidents, six deaths and 252 abductions, according to a report by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. United Nations, United States | AFP | The rebel Lord’s Resistance Army is stepping up attacks, …
Read More »Uganda pulls troops out of C. Africa, “LRA no longer a threat”
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Uganda is set to pull its troops out of the restive Central African Republic, deeming the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to be “no longer a threat”, an army spokesman said. “Uganda has met its goal in the fighting against LRA,” army spokesman Paddy Ankunda …
Read More »LRA rebels kidnap dozens of civilians in DR Congo: UN
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Nearly 100 people have been kidnapped in northeast DR Congo during an attack blamed on Uganda’s rebel Lord’s Resistance Army, the United Nations said Wednesday. Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Amouzou Codjo, spokesman for the UN’s MONUSCO peace mission in DR Congo, said the suspected LRA members …
Read More »Armed with radios, C.Africa villages combat LRA rebels
Obo, Central African Republic | AFP | “Charlie Six, India One here… we’re going to begin the check-in,” says radio operator Joanick from his small studio in Obo, calling out to the surrounding villages in southeast Central African Republic. It’s a daily meeting at dawn, when each village informs the …
Read More »ICC confirms 70 charges against LRA’s Ongwen
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | War crimes judges Wednesday confirmed 70 charges against notorious Lord’s Resistance Army commander Dominic Ongwen for crimes committed in Uganda, including keeping sex slaves and recruiting child soldiers. Judges at the International Criminal Court “confirmed 70 charges brought by the prosecutor against Dominic Ongwen,” …
Read More »Ugandan army takes LRA rebel commander “Sam” into custody
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Uganda’s army said it had taken custody of a top Lord’s Resistance Army rebel captured in Central African Republic, and would transport him home. Okot George Odek, once one of LRA supremo Joseph Kony’s most trusted aides, was held by Seleka rebels in CAR who …
Read More »Central African rebels say they handed LRA commander to US forces
Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | Monday – A rebel group in the Central African Republic has captured and handed over to US forces a commander of the infamous Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), one of its leaders said Monday. “Our forces captured the commander ‘Sam’ at the weekend at …
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